The Labor enquirer., 1887-04-23
The Right 70 Free + PfesS
70 y Throtllsd 4 II
Illinois.
TIE DEATH PENALTY R[yE1|
Details Of the Rassslly llsrrltt O.
spIr.ey Bin Now Bslat Psslsa j,
the Illinois LesislAtsrs.
For the ENQUIRER.

/
There is now pending in the state go
islature of Illinois onssof thb most infs.l
nous bills ever proposed id any eseisla-
ture in the world. II has becured votss
enough to pass. The banded bandits ~
Doodle, both republican and dsmopratic
have combined to rush il. through. a
II Is aimed at the labor press Of Illinois.
at pepers like the Ar6eite, Z{itung, Eorbote.
and the Chicago Enquirer, tpapers which
cannot be bribed OF bullied, and which
consequently must be suppressed. II
these papers had taken papt to hold. their
jaw, like the so-called ''lsbot friends" the
Star and Neps for Instance, The bill would
not have been thought Of.
This is another Significant blow at Amer
lean Liberty, at our constitutional rights.
If had been done in h78l, PArsrox
HESEI would have called the American
people to arms in resistance to it,
Merritt's bill provides s'thdt when two or
more persons conspire to do|an unlawful osS
LAWFUL thing; or when any person BY
speech or print advises any unlawful
course to accomplish nAwtuL or unlaw-
full object, such person or p4rsg eshall ~
held responsible for ALI ~ oqued Y
and il lifs.is lost they shall y desmSa
guilty Of murder, and 4 ssoll ncs 6s 49,.
sasy 70 prove that the person dom,s s;jiOo AZ
crime ,tus member Of Ass ton1pirocr. ~
EVEN HEARD THE SPEECH on READ THE
PRINT!!'
These are the words of tho statutel
A Mr.. Bailey moved an amendment,
which was promptly uoted do,cn. That
amendment was intended to eliminate the
clause which does not require the prose
cutiOn to show that the crirAe was com
mitted by member of such conspiracy
or by person who had heard the speeches
or read the print.
That such should haye bedn done by ali
of the republican and ali of the oenocrati,, 7,
members Jointly shows thp infamy OF
both those parties, brands them alike as
ene paio tools OF monarchy, capitalism,
despotism and aristocracy
The mmon law OF eonsb tracy is baa
enouP In all conscience, out that requires
that me connection be shown between
the actual criminal and the person held az
conspirator. Merritt's bill provides that
no such connection need be showh. LuA \
that H. Tor instance Chicago paper ad-
wise the lynching of VIM. Kssane in Cali
fornia and the man should be killed in \
dive in Denver the next week by one Of
his suffering victims, the Chicago paper
would be the murderer anh the article
must be taken as prima facie evidence of
guilt!
The object of the bill is I'd hold for mur-
der-every member of labor organization,
if in an attempt to secure remunerative
wages man iskilled by anybody whether
member of the union or uYsethsrd d tool of
the employer. No connection need be
shown between the real murderer and the
men that went upon strike.
The entire capitalist pres3 of Chicago
favor the bill but they suppress and wiu
not print its VITAL CLAUSE, tile clause that
does not require any conIection to be
shown between the actuN criminal and the
public speech or public print the author of
which is held for the crime. The capital
istic papers that are favoring the bill
never mention this clause. They dare not
print that portion Of the bill and declare
themselves in favor Of it. The sense OF
justice in the whole community would be
utterly shocked by such course. u
These infamous cess- pools Of rs@-etal I
knavery and physical corruption, the cap,
italist press, falsely claim taat the bill is
exactly in line with the common law; if
this were true it would be useless to pass
the law, as it would simply be waste OF
time to enact statute that is inherent In
the common law. Without the Objection
able clause, Merritt's bill is a statutory re-
statement Of established common Law, ana
its enactment would simply be waste of
me,doing neither good nor harm. But
the common law holds that when man is
charged with conspiracy to commit crime,
there must be direct or influential con-
nection between the alleged conspirator
and the actual criminal. When in COM
mon law a man is charged with inciting to
murder by speech or print, it Il necessary
Continued on second page.l